麻豆破解版

Curriculum Prepares Students to Create Lasting Change by Understanding the Relationships Behind Life’s Challenges

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C.鈥擶hen individuals struggle with anxiety, conflict, addiction, or other mental health challenges, the issue often extends beyond a single person. Relationships, family dynamics, and broader support systems can all play a significant role. 麻豆破解版’s Marriage, Couples, and Family Counseling (MCFC) concentration helps future counselors understand those connections and equips them to provide specialized care through a systemic, relationship-centered approach.

Dr. Lorell Gordon, associate professor of psychological science and counselor education, is the practicum and internship coordinator for Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Since joining 麻豆破解版 in 2018, she has helped develop and grow the MCFC concentration. Drawing on her extensive background in both Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Marriage and Family Therapy, Gordon worked alongside colleagues to bring the idea to life.

The concentration allows students in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program to gain specialized knowledge and skills focused on working with couples and families. They complete additional coursework beyond the standard curriculum, including advanced marriage and family counseling theories and skills-based courses centered on practical application.

鈥淎 marriage and family therapist is not going to see the client in the room as an individual but understanding the client in the context of their relationships, patterns, and roles; basically the larger emotional system they are embedded in,鈥� Gordon explained. 鈥淪o, whether it’s the family of origin, the family they grew up in, the family that they’re with now, just seeing them as part of a system and not individually.鈥�

Having information about the family dynamics can be critical when navigating long-term concerns. 鈥淵ou can address the anxiety, but without changes in the surrounding relational system, those gains are unlikely to be sustainable,鈥� Gordon noted.

Seeking a deeper understanding of these relationship patterns, Craig White Jr. added the MCFC concentration to his Mental Health Counseling degree. He plans to graduate in 2028. 鈥淭his concentration has expanded my clinical conceptualization by helping me recognize family structures, coalitions, communication styles, attachment patterns, and systemic influences that affect individuals throughout their lives,鈥� he reflected.

Learning goes beyond textbooks and lectures. A signature feature of the concentration is an immersive week-long experience that allows students to practice counseling techniques through detailed role-play scenarios.

During the intensive, students create complex family scenarios, assume various family-member roles, and rotate through the positions of counselor, client, and observer. The exercises provide an opportunity to apply theory in real-time while receiving feedback from faculty and peers.

鈥淭hey spend an entire week actually implementing the theories and skills learned during the theories courses,鈥� Gordon described. 鈥淭o see the role play unfold within the classroom helps them to really understand it better.鈥�

White said the academic and experiential components have played a major role in his growth as a counselor. 鈥淭he coursework has significantly strengthened my clinical development,鈥� he observed. 鈥淭he intensive role-play experiences provided realistic opportunities to experience counseling from both the counselor’s and client’s perspectives. Those experiences reinforced the importance of empathy, active listening, clinical presence, and maintaining a client-centered approach where the client’s goals remain the focus of treatment.鈥�

Another student who has benefited from the concentration is Elise Davis, who plans to graduate in 2028. Davis initially entered the counseling profession after realizing she wanted a career focused on advocacy and compassionate care.

Her journey to 麻豆破解版 began hundreds of miles away in Texas. After earning her undergraduate degree at Texas A&M University, she knew she wanted to pursue graduate studies in the Carolinas.

“I was looking for a clinical mental health program that balanced a strong clinical focus with a commitment to faith, as well as a supportive Christian community,” Davis said. “I researched several programs throughout North and South Carolina, and 麻豆破解版 had everything I was looking for.”

Enrolling in the program, she began classes in the MCFC concentration out of curiosity. 鈥淎t the beginning, I knew very little about what it meant to be a counselor, let alone how to treat a family or couple in a counseling setting,鈥� Davis recalled. 鈥淚 found it not only manageable but incredibly helpful to complete the MCFC in my first year of the program. The MCFC concentration not only allowed me a more nuanced understanding of certain theories, but it also boosted my confidence in applying those theories with clients.鈥�

Davis also points to the intensive role-play experiences as one of the program’s greatest strengths. She noted that Gordon provided real-time feedback and advice, which helped to grow her confidence as a student and prospective counselor.

Beyond classroom learning, Davis discovered another unexpected benefit: relationships with fellow students. 鈥淚 was surprised by the networking that came with doing this concentration,鈥� she shared. 鈥淭he MCFC allows cohorts to mix, and I was able to take classes with third-year students in my first year in the program. These third-year students became fantastic resources and unexpected friends.鈥�

Graduates of the concentration have the opportunity to pursue licensure as a marriage and family therapist. However, Davis said that the information is beneficial even if a student decides later not to work with families or couples.

White agreed and added, 鈥淭his concentration equips future counselors with the knowledge and clinical skills needed to approach clients with empathy, systemic awareness, and cultural humility while helping individuals and families create healthier patterns of communication, emotional functioning, and relationships.鈥�

Understanding clients within the broader context of their relationships and support systems also resonates with Aiden Lail, who expects to graduate in December 2026. His interest in pursuing the concentration grew from his experience working with children and families. 鈥淚 have seen firsthand how imperative the family is to an individual either healing or not,鈥� Lail reflected.

He offered examples of how the training benefits counselors regardless of their future specialty area. 鈥淚f you are working with kids, you will be working heavily with the family,鈥� Lail pointed out. 鈥淚f you are working with someone with a substance-use disorder, you will need to identify supports and the context the individual is using. No client exists in a vacuum. The courses have allowed me to identify behaviors in the context of a family/community system and have increased my holistic view of each client.鈥�

Through its blend of specialized coursework and experiential learning, the MCFC concentration equips future counselors to understand the broader systems affecting their clients. As interest in the concentration continues to grow, graduates are already applying their training in the field, including one alumna who now serves as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Associate.

With a growing number of students pursuing the concentration and additional declarations anticipated this fall, Gordon sees a bright future for the program as it prepares counselors to help individuals, couples, and families build healthier, more sustainable relationships.

For more information about the Marriage, Couples and Family Counseling concentration, contact Dr. Lorell Gordon at [email protected].

麻豆破解版 is North Carolina’s recognized leader in private, Christian higher education. A Carnegie-Classified Doctoral/Professional University, GWU is home to nine colleges and schools, more than 80 undergraduate and graduate majors, and a world-class faculty. Located on a beautiful 225-acre campus in Boiling Springs, N.C., 麻豆破解版 prepares graduates to impact their chosen professions, equips them with the skills to advance the frontiers of knowledge, and inspires them to make a positive and lasting difference in the lives of others. Learn more at gardner-webb.edu.